The Angel and the Assassin
by IamMidnite
Summary: Three years after Endless Waltz the expilots find themselves bored with their routine lives. Fortunately for them, things are about to get stirred up. Another new chapter! I'm on a roll.
1. Prologue

The Angel and the Assassin  
  
History is much like an endless waltz.  
  
The three beats of war, peace, and revolution   
  
continue on forever.  
  
  
  
- Mariemaia Barton in Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz  
  
  
  
Prologue: Mission Accepted  
  
  
  
A wordless sigh escaped the man's lips as he glanced at the glowing red digits of the clock on his desk. 1:59. One minute. That's how long he had till the most dangerous assassin ever known would show up in his office. The room was dark save for the glow of the computer screen. He glanced around a bit nervously and wished again that he could have sent one of his assisstants to deal with this. However, his superior had ordered him to personally handle giving this assignment to an assassin who was known to kill his employers if they made a mistake or did not pay the agreed amount. The room seemed to suddenly grow darker and he held his breath, glancing up at the closed door.   
  
"Who is the target and what price are you offering?" a deep, ominous sounding voice echoed softly throughout the large office.   
  
He jumped in his seat as a shadow detached itself from the wall to his left. Well, he isn't called the 'Perfect Shadow' for nothing, he thought to himself nervously. Grabbing the file on his desk he held it out to the dark figure, and held his breath as the assassin took it. There wasn't enough light to see any details of the apparently masked figure and for once he was glad he was only a messenger boy this time. That way he only had to hand the file over and make sure 'Kage', as this assassin was most often referred to as, understood the particulars. He exhaled slowly and tried to calm down his racing pulse.  
  
"The price is high enough?" he questioned in a somewhat shaky voice. Blast it all! He actually sounded as nervous as he felt.  
  
Kage raised his head and the man froze. After what seemed like an eternity of time, that deep voice spoke in a soft and almost menacing tone. "I will determine if it is high enough when I have seen if the target is worthy of such a dishonorable death."   
  
The man's mouth dropped open. He actually decides if they deserve to die?  
  
"Until then," the voice continued, "consider the target eliminated unless I decide otherwise. Payment will be discussed after that."   
  
The man blinked and then Kage was gone. He breathed out a sigh of relief and proceeded to send the news to headquarters via his computer. He silently prayed that he would not have to discuss payment with that deadly shadow.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Beep. Beep.  
  
Heero Yuy paused in his typing to regard the small file that had popped up on his laptop's screen, his Prussian blue eyes widening as they absorbed the information. "Shit!" he muttered as he reached for the phone.   
  
Since joining the Preventors a little over a year ago, Heero had been successful in quelling many of the rebellions or assassination attempts that seemed to spring up every so often. He was so good in fact, that he had become quite famous at Headquarters as the top agent. As such, he never seemed to be caught off gaurd, constantly monitoring and watching for signs of trouble. However, something like this hadn't been attempted in years and his alert system had been delayed, something it never did. That could mean they were good. Then again, they could just be lucky. Heero wasn't going take a chance.  
  
"Hello?" a voice that sounded ready to yawn came over the line.  
  
"Sally."   
  
The voice instantly went alert. "Yes? Who is this?"  
  
"It's Heero."  
  
"Heero? It's four-thirty in the morning! Is something wrong?"  
  
"We've got trouble," Heero said in that deadpan monotone of his.  
  
There was silence as Sally Po absorbed that and tried to wake up more fully. When she spoke again her voice was tense. "What kind of trouble, Heero?"  
  
"They're after Relena."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Quatre Winner sighed as he finished with the last of the days reports. Even three years after the war, he was still swamped with work to keep the peace between the colonies and the earth, as well as having to handle all the business of the Winner Corporation. Sometimes it seemed to much for him to bear. After all, he was only nineteen years old, how much could he possibly handle on his own? However, he knew that the owners of the other businesses were just waiting for him to make a mistake, so he kept pushing on determined to keep his father's work from failing.   
  
Yawning, he ran his fingers through his golden hair and reached for his briefcase, preparing to go home. Suddenly, the vid- phone beeped and he stifled the urge to punch it. He had been so close to leaving! Instead he reached for it slowly hoping it wasn't more business. The face on the screen was a huge surprise.  
  
"Wufei?" he asked incredulously.   
  
  
  
Wufei Chang couldn't help the slight quirk of his lips as Quatre's surprise turned into unabashed joy.   
  
"Wufei, it is you!" he cried. "How have you been? It's so good to see you!" Quatre was overjoyed. With all the work he had to do, he rarely had time for anything else including speaking with his old comrades.  
  
Wufei frowned slightly. "It's good to see you too Quatre-san, but we don't have time to catch up on things."  
  
Quatre caught his tone and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Is something going on with the Preventors?"  
  
"I don't have time to explain all the details, but right now we need you at headquarters. Apparently, Relena Dorlian has been targeted for assassination and we don't know whose behind it. It seems to be a large organization. We need to stop them."  
  
"And you need me?"  
  
  
  
Wufei nodded. "There aren't many Preventors with enough experience to handle this sort of situation. We'll probably need you the most."   
  
"Are the others going to be there too?"  
  
  
  
"Yes. Are you in?"  
  
"You bet I am! I'll leave first thing in the morning!" Quatre said firmly. And he meant it. He could take care of the important business on earth. A few of his sisters could handle the small stuff up here in space.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow then." The screen went blank and Quatre smiled. He didn't consider it a good thing that Miss Relena's life was in danger, but he was thrilled to have something to do other than this monotonous office job he'd been stuck with for the past two years. He just hoped it wasn't too dangerous.  
  
  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
"Duo!.... Duo?... DUO!" a voice rang out impatiently across the scrap yard.  
  
  
  
"Oooowww! Geez, Hilde. Do you have to yell?" Duo Maxwell complained. He rubbed his forehead where he'd hit it on a pipe above his head.   
  
  
  
Hilde crossed her arms and made a face at her husband as he crawled out from underneath an old car engine he was working on. "If you'd answer when you're called, I wouldn't have to," she snapped with more mirth than anger.  
  
"What's up, Babe?" he asked as he threw some tools into the tool box next to him.  
  
"Heero's on the phone. He says it's important."  
  
Instantly, Duo was up and running, his hip-length braid flying behind him. He slid to a stop in front of the vid-phone with his trademark grin firmly in place. "Heeeeroooo...... Buddy, ol' pal....... What's up?" he said as though he had just seen him yesterday, when in fact, he hadn't seen Heero since he was the best man at his and Hilde's wedding; whichi was two years ago.  
  
Heero stifled a groan. Getting to the point, he filled Duo in on the situation. By the time he was done, Duo was nearly bouncing off of his feet. "So I finally get in on a little action, huh? Well, that's fine by me. Hilde can take care of things by herself for a while. See you soon, pal!" He hung up and raced outside. "Hey, Babe, guess what?"  
  
*****************************************  
  
Okay, okay! I know it was short, but I was in a hurry and I wanted to get it up right away. Hope it caught your interest. Any comments just contact me. No flames please, they'll only be ignored. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I'll try my best to get chapter one out. - Midnite. 


	2. Chapter 1: Identical Surprise

_i apologize for the long wait. my computer is broken and having to rely on someone else's is almost more trouble than it's worth. a very big thank you to Purdy and jisAtsu siLENcE for giving me such great reviews. and of course to my dear friend stargirl5._

_i seem to have forgotten to put a disclaimer on my prologue so here it is:_

_**i do not own Gundam Wing! however, any and all original characters and ideas belong to me. please do not steal them!**_

**The Angel and the Assassin**

**Chapter 1: Identical Surprise**

_I ne'er was struck before that hour _

_With love so sudden and so sweet;_

_Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower_

_And stole my heart away complete._

_My face turned pale a deadly pale,_

_My legs refused to walk away,_

_And when she looked what could I ail_

_My life and all seemed to turned to clay._

_- First Love by John Clare_

SLAM!! The sound echoed quite far across the Preventor parking lot. Normally, the tall young man striding across the pavement would not have made so much noise shutting a car door. However, Trowa Barton was not in a good mood and slamming a car door helped to calm him, if only a little. Living with his sister Catherine in the circus for nearly three years since the end of the war had helped him become more human than he had thought possible. He no longer felt empty, like a shell with no purpose. Catherine had changed that for him and when the war had ended he had been more than willing to stop fighting and live a peaceful life.

As he neared the large building that served as Preventor Headquarters Trowa let his face slip back into his old emotionless mask. He might be comfortable enough around Cathy to show his emotions, but in places like this he found it better to appear distant and cold, it got things done quickly. Which was exactly what he wanted, to get this over with. He wasn't thrilled to have to get back into this. He could have refused, of course, but Trowa never allowed that to be an option when his friends needed his help. He had been on missions here before so he wasted no time in getting to the meeting room he knew everyone would be in.

"Trowa!" a joyful voice cried out as soon as he opened the door. Quatre's smile was nearly blinding as he rushed up to greet him and Trowa couldn't help the small smile that slipped through his mask. His best friend had a way of doing that to a person. He'd even seen Wufei and Heero fall prey to that charm. Following Quatre into the room he nodded a greeting at Wufei who was seated at the long table in the middle of the room. Wufei nodded back and turned his attention to the chessboard set up in front of him. Quatre took a seat across from him and moved one of his pieces forward. Taking a seat next to him, Trowa glanced at the only other occupant of the room. Heero was seated towards the head of the table, an open file in front of him. From the look on his face, the contents seemed to be troubling him greatly.

With a loud bang, the door suddenly flew open and four heads swiftly turned in that direction. "Yo!" Duo's voice rang out from behind the pile of snacks in his arms. Heero rolled his eyes and went back to looking at the file, while Quatre smiled and went over to help him unload his arms. Wufei, however, took on a look of aggravation and glared at Duo in disgust.

"Maxwell, can't you ever be quiet when you do something?" he snapped at him.

His arms finally empty, Duo looked over at Wufei and noticing the chessboard he grinned impishly. "What's the matter, Wuffie?" he teased. "Did I break your concetration?" Laughing when Wufei bristled at the nick-name, he bounced over to Heero's side and peered over his shoulder at the file in front of him. "Is that part of the mission?" he asked.

With a quick flick of his wrist, Heero slammed the folder shut and stood up so fast he nearly clipped Duo's nose with his shoulder. "It's none of your business!" he said sharply. His tone caused his comrades to look at him with concern. Something was definitely up, but he ignored them by taking the folder and moving to the door. He was halfway there when Sally appeared in the doorway and he froze. His eyes darted past her as if he was expecting someone else, but when she came in alone and shut the door behind her, he seemed to visibly relax. Trowa cast a glance at Quatre who shrugged helplessly.

Heero was having a hard time controlling his emotions right now. Sally looked at him with some compassion. The same way she had looked at him when she had handed him the file earlier and he resisted the urge to throw it at her. Compassion wasn't going to change what the file said or the fact that blood tests had proved it all true.

For most of his life, Heero had been alone. Raised by an assassin and then taken in by Dr. J and trained to be a gundam pilot, his first and only experience at having a family being the four ex-pilots who had all sort of adopted each other during and after the war. He was sure knowing this information wouldn't change his so-called life, but having it suddenly thrown in his face was a little hard to deal with. Especially now that it was going to be a permanent change in his working life. Damnit! Now that he thought about it, his working life was practically the only life he had. Things had definitely gotten screwed up. Why couldn't Sally have just let this new recruit skip the blood test?

Heero repressed a sigh and looked at Sally, who had been waiting patiently for any sign that he wanted her to speak up. Darting a glance at his friends, who were looking more than a little concerned by now, Heero nodded. They were working here too, they deserved to know. He wasn't, however, looking forward to their reactions.

Clearing her throat, Sally began explaining the situation to others. "You're probably wondering what that file Heero has is about," she stated calmly. At their nods she continued. "We recently hired about dozen more people to become agents for us since we're a little short-handed. They had to pass a mental exam and complete several various physical tests as well. These tests were designed to evaluate their ability and experience in combat and survival. Of the ones we hired, several were former soldiers from OZ or the Alliance. A few were civilians. Their final reports showed that they needed to take the required training before becoming full agents."

The guys nodded again and Wufei smirked, Heero would have done the same if the next part wasn't so disturbing. Of course they needed to take the training classes, Heero had helped design the tests. The only ones who had ranked perfect scores on their evaluations were Wufei and himself. Trowa and Duo were right behind them and Quatre, though he had scored slightly lower than them physically, was an expert strategist and their unspoken leader. He was the one who had kept them all together and somewhat in touch during the last three years.

Sally took a deep breath and continued in a more subdued tone. "However, there is one recruit who scored above average on all the tests and exams." Heero saw the shock in their faces when they heard that. He had probably looked the same when he first found out about it. "Naturally, I had a background check performed and blood work done, but when the results came back I didn't believe them. When I met Ms. Laya Yuzai though there was no mistaking it." She paused and glanced at Heero. When he didn't say anything she looked back at the others. "Ms. Yuzai is Heero's twin sister."

Quatre's mouth dropped open in shock. Trowa and Wufei's eyes went wide. Duo looked like he was about to faint. If Sally hadn't already said it had been proven true Quatre might have laughed, and yet he supposed it made sense. After all, Heero's childhood was just a blur of training and even if he couldn't remember having parents that didn't mean he hadn't had them in the first place. Without parents he wouldn't exist, and who's to say how he lost them in the first place if he hadn't even known about his own twin.

"Why are you telling us all of this?" Wufei demanded with a hint of suspicion in his voice. Quatre sighed. Of course. If this young woman was as good as her brother then there's no doubt that she would be promoted to agent status automatically. This might cause some problems, especially if she was going to be working with them.

Sally smiled. "Because, she's the newest member of this team. Would you like to meet her?"

Wufei scowled and Quatre knew why. A female who could fight as well as Wufei would be considered damaging to his pride. 'Problem one,' Quatre counted mentally. By now, Duo was grinning like a chesire cat and watching Wufei with a hint of mischief in his eyes. 'Problem two,' Quatre counted again. No doubt Duo intended to torture Wufei and his sensitive 'male pride'. He glanced at Heero who still looked disturbed. 'Problem three,' he finished. Whatever Heero was thinking, his reaction to the girl was not going to be good.

Sally didn't wait for them to answer and knocked on the door once. It opened in an instant and as a figure glided into the room and closed the door, Quatre felt all the blood drain from his face and his knees weaken. He had never thought the sight of a woman could affect him so much. Laya Yuzai barely seemed to glance at the others as her gaze landed on Heero.

She barely seemed to be breathing as she stood across from Heero in silence. The similiarities were unmistakable. Identical Prussian blue eyes locked on to each other. Their hair color was the same, the shape of their face, nose, even the eyebrows, although her lips were fuller and more delicately shaped. In fact, her feminity was what marked the difference between them. Her features were softer and more delicate in appearance though her eyes proved she had seen as much hardship as her brother, if not more. She had the sort of figure most women would kill to have and the graceful way she had walked into the room spoke of carefully hidden strength. In short, she was downright beautiful.

The twins' stances were tense, wary as if ready to attack at the slightest provocation as they eyed each other, the 'Yuy death glare' plastered on both their faces. The air was thick with tension and Quatre gasped in surprise as a hand shot out like lightning.


	3. Chapter 2: First Impressions revised

_If you have read this chapter when it was first put up, please read it again or you won't really understand chapter 3. I've revised this and changed some major points in the story, though some of it is still the same._

**The Angel and the Assassin**

_Chapter 1 end:_

_/ The twins' stances were tense, wary as if ready to attack at the slightest provocation as they eyed each other, the 'Yuy death glare' plastered on both their faces. The air was thick with tension and Quatre gasped in surprise as a hand shot out like lightning. /_

**Chapter 2: First Impressions**

Laya's fist stopped a centimeter from Heero's face. He didn't move. She smirked slightly as she retracted her fist. "Omoshiroii desu. Ne, Niisan?" Heero's only reply was to lift his chin up and glare at her.

Sally looked at Laya in disapproval. "I thought you weren't going to do anything, Laya," she said as Laya shifted her gaze to take in the other occupants of the room.

"I didn't," Laya replied in a flat voice similiar to her brother's. "I was merely seeing what my twin was capable of." She said twin as though she'd had to force it through her teeth, and the glint in her eyes hinted at exactly what she thought of him. Duo was starting to get the feeling that for all their similiarities, Laya was very different from her brother. As her gaze fell on him, Duo swallowed and forced his usual silly grin across his face. Her eyes narrowed briefly and then brushed past him to Quatre. He watched as Quatre blinked at first and then offered a warm smile to the young woman glaring at him. An eyebrow raised briefly and then the glare was gone and a slight quirk of her lips caused Duo's eyes to widen in surprise. The barest hint of a smirk on Laya's face startled Quatre, he obviously wasn't expecting a response, and a faint blush appeared on his face as he shyly looked away. The braided boy felt excitement bubble up from somewhere inside him. Laya was definitely gorgeous, but Quatre had seen plenty of beautiful women. Even though they were always throwing themselves at him, Quatre had never reacted to any of them this way. This could be really fun. Duo couldn't stop the grin that blossomed on his face as thoughts of mercilessly teasing his friend filled his mind. She quickly moved on to Trowa and Wufei. Trowa, as always, had no expression on his face. However, Duo was quite sure if looks could be used as weapons, Laya would have already been vaporized by Wufei. It was obvious he didn't like the idea of a woman on his team. Especially, one related to Yuy. Laya didn't seem to take too kindly to him either, and her 'death glare' was so identical to Heero's, it gave Duo the creeps.

Sally introduced them to Laya, starting with Heero's name first and ending with Quatre's. It didn't appear that Laya had heard since she was still glaring at Wufei and vice versa. She didn't seem to be paying attention at all until Quatre spoke. "Welcome to the team, Miss Yuzai," Quatre offered cheerfully.

She flicked her gaze back to him. "It's Laya."

"All right, Miss Laya."

Her face took on a perturbed expression and Duo tried not to laugh. Quatre referred to all females as 'miss'. Well, with the exception of Duo's wife. Hilde had said if he didn't consider them good enough friends to just call her Hilde, then she didn't want him to talk to her at all. Quatre had gotten the point. He probably just considered Hilde 'safe' since she was already married. Duo was sure Quatre didn't use 'miss' just to be polite. It was a way of protecting himself and not becoming too familiar with females. Especially in his 'eligible rich bachelor' position. With a beautiful girl like Laya, Quatre would undoubtedly try to be extra polite.

Laya stalked towards him, reminding Duo of a big cat hunting down her prey. The image was reinforced when Quatre backed away from her quite quickly. He came to an abrupt stop when his legs hit the table behind him. Laya didn't pause until their noses were practically touching. Quatre's eyes were wide open with a look akin to shock and his hands gripped the table as if it were his only support. Duo bit down on his bottom lip to keep from laughing. The poor boy looked like a cornered animal. She must really be affecting him.

"It's Laya," she said sternly. "Not 'Miss' Laya. Not 'Miss Yuzai'. Just Laya. Understand?"

Duo was sure Quatre was about to faint from their closeness. For all his affectionate ways, Quatre always kept a polite distance from women. It was part of his upbringing.

Quatre started to nod, then jerked back when the action brought their faces closer together and his nose brushed hers. He turned bright red and stammered out an apology. Duo crossed both arms over his stomach, sure that he would bust something if he didn't laugh soon. The others didn't look like they cared. Heero was still glaring. Wufei still looked angry that a female was on his team, and Trowa... Well, Trowa actually looked like he was enjoying the exchange between his best friend and their newest addition.

Slowly, Laya stepped back and eyed Quatre in what appeared to be disgust. "This is a former Gundam pilot? You've got to be kidding me. I've seen mice braver than that!"

Duo didn't feel like laughing anymore. That was going too far. "Hey! You're the one acting like your gonna string him up or kill him" he said, taking a step forward. If there was one thing Duo could always be counted on it was sticking up for his friends. Already used to Heero's personality traits, he ignored her glare.

"How do you know about the Gundams?" Heero snarled.

Duo blinked. He had missed that one. How _did_ she know about them?

Her gaze sliced over to Heero. "I have my ways."

His eyes narrowed. "Did you know about me?" At her nod Heero gritted his teeth and moved closer to his newly discovered twin. "How? Start talking," he practically growled.

"I don't have to tell you anything," she snapped. Her eyes suddenly took on a mischievous light. "If you want to know so badly, why don't you convince me of how important it is to you." Heero's stance became wary. "Shinpai shinaide, _Oniisan_. I'll go easy on you. Even if you are a Gundam pilot, I don't expect much."

Without warning, Heero took a swing and Duo was surprised to see Laya dance back just out of reach before returning the punch. Heero easily dodged the fist aimed at his face, but Laya must have been expecting that because her other hand had already been coming in before he dodged. Her open palm slammed into his chest with such force he was pushed back a few steps and the wind was apparently knocked out of him. "Kanashii," she hissed.

Duo blinked in amazement. She thought Heero was pathetic? True, that whole move had been over in barely a second, but still... Duo had always thought Heero could beat practically anyone, besides Wufei that is, those two were fairly even in hand-to-hand combat. Still, this was the guy they called 'The Perfect Soldier' he couldn't have been brought down with one move, even if it was his sister. He looked at Heero not sure what to expect. The glare on Heero's face had doubled in its intensity and he had a hand placed over his chest as he struggled to regain his breath. Duo suddenly got the feeling things could get very messy.

**Translation:**

"Omoshiroii desu. Ne, Oniisan?" "It's interesting. Isn't it, brother?"

"Shinpai shinaide, _Oniisan_." "Don't worry, brother."

For those of you who re-read this chapter and can remember what it was originally, I'd love to hear what you think in comparison to the original. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 3: You're Beautiful Oops!

_**So sorry about the long wait! But the next chapter has a large part already written and it will be much longer than the others (hopefully). So I'll try to have it out soon. I'd love to hear what you think so if you have time please review.**_

**NOTE: CHAPTER 2 HAS BEEN REVISED AND IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU READ IT FIRST BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER! IF YOU'RE A NEW READER DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. Thanks!**

**i do not own Gundam Wing! however, any and all original characters and ideas belong to me. please do not steal them!**

**The Angel and The Assassin**

It was a beauty that I saw --

So pure, so perfect, as the frame

Of all the universe were lame

To that one figure, could I draw,

Or give least line of it a law:

A skein of silk without a knot!

A fair march made without a halt!

A curious form without a fault!

A printed book without a blot!

All beauty! -- and without a spot.

_- A Vision Of Beauty  by Ben Jonson_

**Chapter 3: You're Beautiful... Oops!**

Laya quickly slid her gaze to her brother as he took a step towards her. Apparently, he had regained his breath, and from the murderous look on his face it seemed _murder _itself was definitely an option. "You try something like that again, and it sure as hell will be the last," Heero ground out in a gravelly voice, which accompanied by that look, would have made Quatre sweat if it were directed at him. Narrowing her eyes, Laya seemed to take that as a challenge, tensing up to attack.

"Enough!" Sally spoke sharply. "There will be no more fighting. You two are on the same team from now on. Is that clear?"

Twin Yuy 'Death Glares' were directed at her, but other than swallowing Sally did not show any signs of backing down.

Heero took a step back and Quatre could tell that he was forcing himself to do even that much. Laya didn't seem to be even _that_ willing. "Do you always do what you're told?" she taunted in a low voice.

Her words hung in the air like a noose awaiting its victim. Quatre watched as Heero's fists clenched and before he realized he was moving, Quatre was beside Heero and placing a calming hand on his shoulder. Heero's eyes jerked to his in mild surprise that was quickly masked with a glare, and Quatre was suddenly aware of everyone's attention focused on him. Especially Laya's. His mouth went dry and his mind was suddenly blank.

Just great. Why had he stopped him again? Where was the voice that was supposed to offer a pacifying suggestion and keep everyone calm? Why was it failing him now? Why was she so distracting? No! Now wasn't the time to think about that! Heero shifted as though he were about to shove Quatre's hand off and his mind instantly snapped back into action.

"I'm sorry, Mis-... ah! Laya," he quickly amended. "But I don't think this is the time for fighting. We're here to deal with a threat and since you're now on our team, we should be working together. I think we should focus on the mission, don't you?" Quatre smiled gently and dropped his hand from Heero's shoulder.

Laya stared at him intently for a minute and then nodded and moved towards the meeting table. "If you insist... _Quatre_." The way she said his name made his skin tingle. Quatre couldn't understand it. They're were so many women just as beautiful as Laya, but none of them caused sensations in him like she did. There was something about her that drew him to her and he just couldn't place his finger on what it was.

Sally cleared her throat and walked to front end of the table. "Well, now that we're all here, I'll have Heero brief you on what has been found out so far." She motioned for Heero to come up as the others took their seats.

"The name of the organization is unknown. Other than traces of an illegal weapons purchase it doesn't seem to exist. Their intentions are unknown except for one thing. Relena is their target and they've hired someone else to do it."

"You don't know who they hired, Heero?" Quatre asked when he paused. Heero shook is head and Quatre frowned. This was bad. If they didn't know anything about the orginization or who was even going to try to kill Miss Relena there wasn't much they could do to prepare for an attack.

"It's possible they have a legitimate corporation to hide behind but if we can't even figure out what they're called then it's next to impossible to find out what they're hiding behind. I've increased security around Relena. She won't be going anywhere without an escort. She will also be using an office here at headquarters instead of at ESUN's Diplomatic Embassy," Heero continued.

That was certainly logical. It would be much safer for Miss Relena to be in a building full of Preventors even if the Embassy had security guards there already. Quatre's eyes widened slightly when he felt a wave of anger coming from Laya's direction. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but she showed no hint of the emotion Quatre's empathy allowed him to feel from her. She was staring impassively at Heero seemingly completely focused on the briefing. Quatre was confused. Was she upset that Relena would be coming here? That didn't make sense. Did she not like Miss Relena? He couldn't understand that either. He was fairly certain they had never met, so why was she angry?

So focused on Laya, he nearly missed that Heero was assigning them jobs until Duo nudged him under the table with his foot. He looked over and saw that Heero was staring at him expectantly.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Heero. Could you repeat that?" he asked a little sheepishly.

If Heero was annoyed at having to repeat himself, he didn't show it, and Quatre was glad that no one seemed to notice he had been staring at Laya. He forced himself to forget about her and focus on the rest of the meeting.

As soon as it was over, Duo wasted no time in bouncing over to the newcomer and trying to make friends. Unfortunately, Quatre could tell that his chatter was quickly becoming a hazard to his health and begin to make his way over to them before Laya decided to end things violently.

"Hey, Quat! Don't you think it's kinda creepy how much she looks like Heero? She even has the same glare," Duo spoke up when he arrived.

"So I'm just his double. Is that it?" Laya spat out in obvious annoyance.

'_Uh-oh! I've got to fix this quickly or we won't be much of a team at all!_' Quatre thought in a slight panic. Laya looked ready to pound Duo's head in. But what could he say? Laya's fists clenched and suddenly, for the first time since his childhood, Quatre blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Not at all, Laya. You're beautiful!"

The sudden silence in the room was deafening and Quatre felt his face overheating with embarrassment. _What have I done?_

Laya's eyes had widened slightly and she seemed more than a little surprised at Quatre's outburst. Then without warning, her mouth twitched and her whole face seemed to soften slightly. "You're very... Interesting, Quatre. And perhaps not as bad as I first thought," she said almost thoughtfully. Then with the slightest of bows, she said, "Dozo yoroshiku ne," and walked out the door.

Quatre was shocked. She hadn't been the least bit bothered by his words. And her last sentence! It was almost as if she wanted to be friends! He suddenly realized he was being stared at and looked up to meet Duo's amused violet eyes. "What?" he couldn't help asking.

"Nothing, man. Just wondering how the hell you do it."

"Do what?"

"Defuse potentially dangerous situations with a few sentences and a smile."

"I do no-...!" Something clicked in his mind and Quatre couldn't help but look at his friend in annoyance. "You were teasing her on purpose!"

Duo shrugged. "I was just testing her a little. Besides," he added with a small shudder, "she seems to be more prone to hurting me than Heero so I won't be doing _that_ too often."

Quatre hoped he wouldn't do it at all.

**Japanese Translation:**

"Dozo yoroshiku ne" usually used when greeting or meeting someone but literally means "Please give favors to me" or "Please treat me kindly". _In this case, Laya is trying to convey to Quatre that she wants him to treat her as a friend or think of her in a nice way._


	5. Chapter 4: Computers, Lunch & a Ninja?

_It's amazing! Another chapter out so soon! And it really is longer than the last one! I'm not one to beg for reviews, I just like to let you know they're appreciated and inspire me greatly. Thanks!_

**i do not own Gundam Wing! however, any and all original characters and ideas belong to me. please do not steal them!**

**The Angel and the Assassin**

**Chapter 4: Computers, Lunch & A Ninja? **

"Damnit!"

The others in the room jumped at Quatre's unusual outburst. Even Trowa looked startled. Recovering quickly, Duo sauntered over to peer at the frustrated blonde's computer screen. It was blank except for a strange line of symbols scrolling across the top.

" What's wrong, Cat?" Duo figured the computer was rejecting commands and whatever information Quatre was trying to download. But how he had gotten it to do that was puzzling if not altogether strange.

Quatre glared at the monitor and barely managed to keep himself from hitting it. "Every time I try to get into the hidden files in this company's hard drive, it goes blank and starts doing that," he said pointing at the scrolling symbols. "This is the fortieth time!" Normally Quatre wouldn't have gotten so upset, but hacking wasn't exactly his forte and this particular job was frustrating the hell out of him. It had only been two day's since they had started working on this assignment, but they were no closer to figuring things out than when they first started.

Sighing, Quatre glanced at Duo who was now typing furiously in an effort to get the computer running again. It was the fifteenth time he'd fixed something Quatre had done in two hours. "I'm sorry, Duo," he said in a calmer voice.

Duo shrugged good-naturedly. "Don't worry 'bout it, Cat. After all, I know you aren't really skilled in the hacking business," he added with a grin. Quatre half smiled in response. "In fact, as far as I know, Laya's just as good at it as Heero is, if not better. He should have told _her_ to do this."

Quatre frowned. "Hey, that's right. I haven't seen Laya all day. Where is she?"

"She was here earlier. She told me she had something to take care of," Trowa spoke up from his desk on the other side of the room.

"Oh." Quatre tried not to look as disappointed as he felt. "Where is Heero, then? I hope he wasn't really expecting a lot of progress," he said, attempting to change the subject.

"He said he was checking into something," Duo continued, the grin fading, "Heero knows you're not too much of a hacker. I don't think he was expecting you to do a lot anyway so don't worry about it. Anyway, I still think he's nuts for giving you this job when you could be working on a plan to keep them from going too far."

"You're right, Duo," Trowa said with a nod. "But, I think Heero is up to something. He wouldn't give Quatre a job that he wasn't too good at unless he had a really good reason."

"Yeah," Quatre frowned. "But, what is it?"

Trowa shrugged slightly in reply.

Finished, Duo stood and stretched. "Why don't you just take a break, Quatre? I'll try and see what I can do about those files. I just had lunch and you look like you could use some food too."

Quatre smiled. "Thanks, Duo. Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked a little uncertainly.

Duo waved a hand at Quatre and the door and said, "I'm positive. And bring the clown while you're at it. He's been here longer than either of us and I haven't seen him leave once."

Calling Trowa a clown was new to Quatre, even though that's exactly what he did at the circus. He glanced at Trowa to see if the name had any effect on him. It didn't. That wasn't surprising however, considering that Trowa rarely ever let anything bother him, especially petty name-calling. Of course, that wasn't true for all of them. Heero usually responded to things like that with the infamous 'death glare' that everyone had taken to calling it, and Wufei would start screaming about the injustice of it all, his sentences usually starting with, "Maxwell!"

Quatre wasn't sure what he would do if he was called a nick-name like Duo was famous for handing out. Such as, 'Wuffie or Wu-man' for Wufei; 'Suicide Boy' for Heero; and now 'Clown' for Trowa. Quatre had never been called a name that he remembered. Of course, there were very few people who would call the head of Winner Enterprises any name other than 'Sir' or 'Master Quatre'.

Quatre snapped out of his musings quickly when he noticed Trowa was looking at him. "I'm sorry did you say something, Trowa?"

Nodding, Trowa repeated his statement, "I said, if you want to go eat somewhere else other than the cafeteria, there is a little café in the town center."

"Oh. Thank you." Quatre turned to walk out then looked back at Trowa. "Why don't you come with me? I know you don't make a big deal about food, but you should probably eat something too."

He seemed to think about it and then nodded, standing up and following Quatre out the door.

"Have fun you two!" came Duo's call as they strode down the hallway.

Trowa only had his motorcycle with him so they took Quatre's car. Quatre let Trowa drive since he knew where the café was and he didn't feel like concentrating on anything. Once there, Quatre allowed himself to really relax and enjoy a nice meal with his best friend. At least until his cell rang.

"This is Quatre," he answered.

"Quatre! Get back to headquarters now!" Heero's voice snapped over the line.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"You're in danger! I'm on my way just in case, but you need to leave now."

"All right. We're on our way." He hung up and explained the situation to Trowa. Good thing they had practically finished their meals already. They paid quickly and headed towards the parking lot. The parking lot was actually a small alley way on the side of the café and rather gloomy and dark. Trowa opened the car door to the driver's side and got in. Quatre didn't. He was looking around the alleyway warily while strange chills ran down his spine.

Trowa noticed his hesitation and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Something's not right," Quatre managed in a low voice.

Trowa's frown deepened. When Quatre got feelings like that, it usually meant trouble. Trowa didn't get a chance to do anything though because at that moment, a figure in black appeared behind Quatre and he went down, unconscious from the swift blow to his neck.

Trowa was out of the car in a flash, his gun in his hand.

It wasn't fast enough.

The black figure moved faster than lightning and before Trowa could even properly aim his gun, the figure was flying through he air.

With a grunt of surprise and pain, Trowa was knocked back against the brick wall behind him so hard that his skull felt as though it had been cracked right through the middle. Blinding, white hot pain exploded through his head. He was sure the force behind that kick had broken more than a few ribs. However, he was quickly losing his grasp on consciousness and could only slide to the ground in a heap as the darkness of his mind took control.

Heero Yuy was not in a good mood. Giving Quatre that hacking job was just so he could stay indoors, while he delved more deeply into a hit list he had managed to uncover. The hunch he'd had was correct. Quatre was a target as well as Relena.

When he'd tried to find Quatre to break the news, Duo told him they had gone to lunch in the town center.

That was exactly the kind of opportunity needed for a hit man. To make matters worse, Heero had just found out who the hit man was, an assassin who went by the code name 'Kage'.

Kage was also called 'Kan'peki na Kage' which meant 'Perfect Shadow' because he was the best assassin in the business. If you wanted a job done right with no traces, no evidence for the government to use to try and link you to the hit, Kage was who you called. No one really knew what he looked like and there were certain drawbacks to dealing with Kage. If you didn't pay in cash, you paid with your life. Though that didn't do much to dampen his reputation.

The moment you became Kage's target, you were already considered dead.

Heero parked in front of the café and walked inside, he glanced around and cursed under his breath. They had already left. Then Heero realized that his car was only the second car parked directly in front and yet the café was full. He ran outside and looked for another street next to the café.

The alleyway was off to his left and he ran towards it only to dive behind a car when he saw Trowa get kicked in the chest and pass out when his head hit the wall. That kick looked painful and Heero almost winced at the connection of foot and chest. Almost.

Instead, he turned his attention to the masked figure clothed in black from head to toe. A ninja. If the clothes hadn't given it away, the katana sheathed between the ninja's shoulder blades would have.

Heero was pretty sure this ninja was Kage, and was proved right when the ninja turned back to Quatre and knelt down beside him. The ninja was behaving rather oddly by looking around the alleyway and along the rooftops above as if searching for some sort of threat. Why didn't he just kill Quatre? No assassin would take this long in eliminating a target. Not wanting to give him a chance to finish his job, Heero shifted silently and drew his gun out. Aiming for his leg since they needed him alive to get information, Heero fired... and missed.

Kage had already been moving, and Heero noticed someone else in the alleyway had caught his attention.

Wufei.

Kage snapped his head toward Heero when he heard the shot and then ducked and blocked a well aimed kick by Wufei. Before Wufei could recover from his attack, Kage swiped his supporting leg out from under him and he crashed to the ground, rolling out of the way just before Kage's foot smashed into the place his face had been.

He recovered and took up a defensive stance with a look of pure rage on his face. Heero had seen him that angry before, and didn't think the ninja had much of a chance.

Kage seemed to disagree as he unleashed a barrage of attacks that not only broke through Wufei's defense, but gave him a bloody nose and probably a few broken ribs as well.

While Kage was kept preoccupied with Wufei, Heero raced to Trowa's side and was relieved to see he was still alive. He glanced at the two fighters and was mildly surprised to see that Wufei was losing. When Wufei fell to the ground once again, Kage seemed to hesitate slightly. Another strange action he noted. Heero, ever ready with his gun, took the opportunity to fire another shot.

This time, Shadow dodged to the side, turning to face him and crouching as if ready to spring all in one motion.

He didn't have the chance.

Kage had made the mistake of turning his back on a wounded Wufei and he was quick to take advantage of it. With a swiftness that Heero hadn't expected Wufei to still possess, he threw a kick to Kage's head that sent him headfirst into the side of Quatre's car. Kage collapsed without a sound. Heero was sure he was only dazed and not unconscious so he raced to the ninja's side and had him handcuffed in seconds.

"I already called for backup, Yuy," Wufei's pained voice came from behind him.

Nodding, Heero stood and, keeping an eye Kage's unmoving but tense form, he went to check on the damage inflicted on his teammates. When he got that ninja back to Headquarters there would be hell to pay.


	6. Chapter 5: What's a Ninja?

_This one is a little short, but the next one has some good action in it and it's partly finished so don't worry about waiting too long. I think I've actually been keeping my updates pretty regular lately. A very good sign. Thanks for reading... (and reviews are welcome!)_

**i do not own Gundam Wing! however, any and all original characters and ideas belong to me. please do not steal them!**

**The Angel and the Assassin**

**Chapter 5: What's A Ninja? **

"Well? What happened?" Duo begged once again of Heero who was perched on the window sill of Trowa and Wufei's hospital room. Quatre wasn't begging but he seemed on the verge of it as he sat in the chair next to Trowa's bed. The only indication that Trowa was interested was the slight tilt of his head in Heero's direction. Wufei seemed to be ignoring them all and Heero finally turned away from staring out the window to answer Duo's persistent questioning.

He spoke quietly of how he had found out that Quatre was a target and who Kage was. Then he told of how he had found Quatre and Trowa and the tiny battle that had ensued with Wufei and that backup had arrived while they were checking Quatre and Trowa. Shadow had been apprehended and thrown in a cell for interrogation later.

"Um... I have a question," Quatre spoke up softly. Heero motioned for him to continue. "What's a ninja?"

That got Wufei's attention and he turned to look at Quatre in mild surprise. Then he shrugged. "I can explain it to you, Winner."

The others raised their eyebrows in surpise. Wufei wasn't usually one to explain things to anyone. Quatre leaned forward expectantly.

"Ninja's," Wufei began, "are usually a group of people who live in the mountains in Japan. There are different clans and their fighting styles vary slightly in each, but all of them are deadly. From the time they're born they are trained to fight. It's a hard life of strict rules and long grueling hours of harsh training. Their fighting styles are usually ninjitsu or variations of it and they aren't allowed to leave their clans."

"Why not?" Duo interrupted eagerly.

Wufei narrowed his eyes slightly at the interruption, but answered him nonetheless. "Because they would be considered a traitor, and they cannot teach their martial art to anyone outside the clan. It is forbidden."

Quatre raised his hand slightly. "How do you know so much about them?" he asked, when Wufei acknowledged him.

"I was required to study the history of different martial arts during my training, but I do not know the actual moves in their fighting style. That reminds me, Yuy," Wufei said, turning to the silent young man at the window. "There's something that bothers me about this so-called ninja."

Heero nodded in agreement. "I know. Why wouldn't an assassin just kill his target with the first blow? Especially a ninja. It doesn't make sense."

"Neither does the fact that he showed up out in the open," Wufei remarked thoughtfully. "This ninja was definitely up to something since he didn't kill Barton or try to finish Winner off. But what's even stranger than that is that when we were fighting he didn't want to kill me."

"How do you know for sure, Wufei?" Trowa spoke up for the first time.

Wufei turned to his hospital room-mate and paused before saying softly, "Because as much as I hate to admit it, I would have been dead already. That guy was holding back and I don't know why he turned his back on me. That was incredibly stupid. Unless, it was planned."

Heero nodded. "That's why I'm worried. I told Sally to be extremely careful while checking his injuries."

"Speaking of Sally," a voice said at the doorway, "I happen to have a very interesting report for you."

Heero stood up quickly. "What is it?"

Sally rolled her eyes slightly. "You're so impatient!" Getting no response, she sighed. "All right, the prisoner doesn't have any injuries except for the one from Wufei and after reading the report you gave me, Heero, I have to say we're going to have our hands full when this Shadow person becomes more alert."

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "He's unconscious?"

"I had him drugged before they put him in the cell," Heero explained.

"Isn't that illegal?" Trowa mused quietly.

Sally shrugged. "It doesn't matter since it had no effect."

Heero narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean it had no effect? You just said he wasn't alert."

"No. I said we had have our hands full when Kage becomes _more_ alert. Meaning that this ninja is just recovering from that head injury and the drugs have nothing to do with it. Wouldn't even let me get close enough to give a real check-up."

"We're going to have to be extra cautious while interrogating him."

"Is he really _that_ dangerous, Heero?" Duo questioned somewhat doubtfully.

Heero looked askance at him. "He nearly defeated Wufei in hand to hand combat, or have you forgotten?"

"Oh yeah. He's definitely bad news."

"Uh... Excuse me, but I must correct you on your usage of gender,"Sally interrupted with a mischievous grin.

"Nani!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sally paused a little for effect before announcing smugly, "I'm fairly certain Kage is a female!"

_A.N. All the information about ninjas in this chapter is basically taken from the instruction booklet for the game **Dead or Alive**. It made sense so I used it. Go ahead and laugh, but if you do then at least favor me with a review. Please be patient for the next chapter. I don't know when I'll get it out but I'm trying. ;;_


End file.
